Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome

Last updated

Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome
Santa Monica pier edit1.jpg
U.S. - Los Angeles Metropolitan Area location map.svg
Red pog.svg
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location276 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California
Coordinates 34°0′36.36″N118°29′43.45″W / 34.0101000°N 118.4954028°W / 34.0101000; -118.4954028
Arealess than one acre
Built1916 [1]
ArchitectLooff, Charles & Arthur
Architectural styleMixture of Byzantine, Moorish, and Californian
NRHP reference No. 87000766 [2]
SMHL No.3
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 27, 1987 [2]
Designated NHLFebruary 27, 1987 [3]
Designated SMHLAugust 17, 1976 [1]

The Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome is located on the Newcomb Pier adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California. It was designed and built in 1916 by Charles I. D. Looff and his son Arthur to hold a Looff Carousel. Looff's carousel was housed at the Hippodrome until it was sold in 1939. It was replaced by Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel #62, which was moved from the Ocean Park Pier. The building remains a rare example of structures that used to be on the amusement pier, and scenes were filmed therein for the 1973 award-winning film, The Sting . [4] Since 1977, the carousel has been owned by the city, [5] and was restored from 1977 through 1981. [6] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. [3] [6]

Contents

History

Looff years (1910s–1930s)

On June 12, 1916, the Looff Hippodrome opened. [7] It and its carousel were part of Looff's new amusement park "Pleasure Pier," on a short, wide pier adjacent to the long, narrow Santa Monica Pier.

Newcomb years (1940s–1960s)

Carousel built in 1922 and installed in the hippodrome in 1947 SMCarousel.2.JPG
Carousel built in 1922 and installed in the hippodrome in 1947

When World War II ended, Walter Newcomb [8] found himself in an enviable position. The amusement business was expected to see a great surge with the return of the country's military personnel and a general feeling of national pride. With the closure of the Venice Pier reducing his competition, he relocated his Venice-based carousel into the old Looff Hippodrome.

Threats, storms, and restoration (1970s–1990s)

Over the next several decades the city of Santa Monica proposed various plans to tear down Newcomb Pier, and with it the Hippodrome. The city council approved a plan to replace the pier with a resort island in Santa Monica Bay. Local activists formed Save Santa Monica Bay and shot down that plan, [9] and in 1973 the city formally revoked a standing order to demolish the pier. [10] The city acquired ownership of the pier in summer 1974. [11] In the 1980s it was almost destroyed by winter storms.

In 1983 the city formed a Pier Restoration and Development Task Force (now the Pier Restoration Corporation), tasked with returning the pier to its former glory. In 1989 the Pier Restoration Corporation decided to "make the pier a year-round commercial development with amusement rides, gift shops, nightclubs with live entertainment and restaurants" that would be "reminiscent of its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s". [12] The Hippodrome was restored and the Carousel was rebuilt inside it. The current 2-acre (0.81 ha) Pacific Park opened in 1996 as a full-scale family amusement park. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carousel</span> Type of amusement ride

A carousel or carrousel, merry-go-round (international), Galloper (international) or roundabout is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The "seats" are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gears to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Ocean Park</span> 1958-1967 amusement park in California

Pacific Ocean Park was a 28-acre (11-hectare) nautical-themed amusement park built on a pier at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park section of Santa Monica, California in 1958. Intended to compete with Disneyland, it replaced Ocean Park Pier (1926–1956). After it closed and fell into disrepair, the park and pier anchored the Dogtown area of Santa Monica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Monica Pier</span> Pier in Santa Monica, California, United States

The Santa Monica Pier is a large pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. The pier is part of the greater Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

The history of Santa Monica, California, covers the significant events and movements in Santa Monica's past.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Dipper</span> Historic roller coaster in California

The Giant Dipper is a historic wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. The Giant Dipper, which replaced the Thompson's Scenic Railway, took 47 days to build and opened on May 17, 1924, at a cost of $50,000. With a height of 70 feet (21 m) and a speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), it is one of the most popular wooden roller coasters in the world. As of 2012, over 60 million people have ridden the Giant Dipper since its opening. The ride has received several awards such as being named a National Historic Landmark, a Golden Age Coaster award, and a Coaster Landmark award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbot Kinney</span> American businessman, developer and conservationist best known for Venice, Los Angeles.

Abbot Kinney was an American developer, conservationist, water supply expert and tree expert. Kinney is best known for his "Venice of America" development in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Park</span> Amusement park in California

Pacific Park is an oceanfront amusement park located in Santa Monica, California. The park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, looks directly out on the Pacific Ocean, in the direction of Catalina Island. It is the only amusement park directly located on the West Coast of the United States located on a pier and LA's only admission-free park. There are a total of thirteen rides in Pacific Park, including the world's first and only solar-powered ferris wheel that provides a view of the Pacific Ocean and a roller coaster that circles the majority of the park. Pacific Park is also home to 14 midway games and over-the-ocean food and retail outlets. It has appeared in over 500 movies and television shows such as Fat Albert, Hannah Montana, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Kidsongs, 90210, Bean, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as the popular video game Grand Theft Auto V. In 2020, it featured in the opening ident for the sky television channel Sky Comedy. It is operated by SC Holdings.

The Pike was an amusement zone in Long Beach, California. The Pike was founded in 1902 along the shoreline south of Ocean Boulevard with several independent arcades, food stands, gift shops, a variety of rides and a grand bath house. It was most noted for the Cyclone Racer (1930–1968), a large wooden dual-track roller coaster, built out on pilings over the water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playland (San Francisco)</span> Amusement park in California, 1921 to 1972

Playland was a 10-acre (40,000-square-meter) seaside amusement park located next to Ocean Beach, in the Richmond District at the western edge of San Francisco, California, along Great Highway, bounded by Balboa and Fulton streets. It began as a collection of amusement rides and concessions in the late 19th century, and was preceded by Chutes at the Beach, opened in 1921. Playland closed Labor Day weekend in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles I. D. Looff</span> Danish carver and amusement park ride builder

Charles I. D. Looff was a Danish master carver and builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. Looff built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. During his lifetime, he built over 40 carousels, several amusements parks, numerous roller coasters and Ferris wheels, and built California's famous Santa Monica Pier. He became famous for creating the unique Coney Island style of carousel carving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Cruz Looff Carousel and Roller Coaster</span> United States historic place

Santa Cruz Looff Carousel and Roller Coaster On The Beach Boardwalk is a National Historic Landmark composed of two parts, a Looff carousel and the Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster, at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California, United States. They are among the oldest surviving beachfront amusement park attractions on the west coast of the United States. They were listed as a pair as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Monica State Beach</span> State beach in Los Angeles County, California, United States

Santa Monica State Beach is a California State Park operated by the city of Santa Monica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescent Park Looff Carousel</span> United States historic place

Crescent Park Looff Carousel, also known as Crescent Park Carousel or more officially as Crescent Park Looff Carousel and Shelter Building, is a National Historic Landmark in East Providence, Rhode Island.

Crescent Park was an amusement park in Riverside, East Providence, Rhode Island which ran from 1886 to 1979. The park was known for its Rhode Island Shore Dinners, the Alhambra Ballroom, and its midway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie's Critter Carousel</span> Attraction at Disney California Adventure

Jessie's Critter Carousel is a carousel at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The attraction opened to the public as King Triton's Carousel of the Sea on February 8, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Park, Santa Monica</span> Neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States

Ocean Park is a Santa Monica neighborhood of Santa Monica, California within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser's Million Dollar Pier</span> U.S. amusement park (1911–1912)

Fraser's Million Dollar Pier was a 20th-century amusement park in Ocean Park, California in the United States. The pier was located between Pier Avenue and Marine Street, in a community situated between Santa Monica and Venice in Los Angeles County. Developed by A. H. Fraser, a booster in Ocean Park who had formerly been business partners with Abbot Kinney of Venice, the pier opened to the public on June 17, 1911, and was destroyed September 3, 1912, in a catastrophic fire that spread into the adjacent neighborhood and destroyed six to eight square blocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of piers of Los Angeles County</span>

This is a timeline of piers of Los Angeles County, California, United States, including dates of construction and demolition, and notable events. This list does not currently cover piers and wharves of the Port of Los Angeles on San Pedro Bay or piers in neighboring Orange County at Seal Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaport Village Carousel</span> Carousel in California

The Seaport Village Carousel, also known as the Fair Park Looff Carousel, is a historic wooden carousel in the western wing of Seaport Village of San Diego, California. It was built by noted carver Charles I. D. Looff, who also constructed the Santa Monica Pier, in 1895. The carousel costs a small fee to ride and contains 54 animals and 2 chariots.

References

  1. 1 2 "City of Santa Monica Designated Landmarks" (PDF). City of Santa Monica. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
  4. ↑ Blake, Lindsay (January 16, 2014). "Scene It Before: The Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome from 'The Sting'". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ Carousel History page that is no longer available at santamonicapier.org, but is archived at archive.org.
  6. 1 2 James H. Charleton (November 2, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Looff's Hippodrome / Santa Monica Amusement Pier Carousel Building" (pdf). National Park Service.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 1 photo, from 1985.  (397 KB)
  7. ↑ santamonicapier.org
  8. ↑ "Santa Monica Pier History - WestlandTraveler.com". www.westlandtraveler.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  9. ↑ Holst, Sanford. "Save Santa Monica Pier - 1972". boomerslife.org. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  10. ↑ Beubis, Seymour (May 10, 1973). "S.M. Council Rescinds Order for Removal of Newcomb Pier". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  11. ↑ Fanucchi, Kenneth (July 4, 1974). "S.M. Fences Unsafe Newcomb Pier Areas". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  12. ↑ Moran, Julio (November 21, 1989). "Santa Monica Pier Revival Plan Stirs Excitement". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Santa Monica beach park to open in '96". Daily News of Los Angeles. October 7, 1995. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.